Pokémon Battle Mehvolution

Still in the throes of my newfound Pokémon addiction, I went overboard and picked up Pokémon Battle Revolution for the Wii.

Meh.

To be fair, this is one of those cases where I have no one to blame but myself. The ad copy for Pokémon Battle Revolution makes perfectly clear what it is: it’s essentially a “visualizer” for Pokémon battles. So the battle mechanics are the same (or nearly the same) as the handheld Pokémon games, but instead of just getting a modest shake or a small animation, you get a beautifully modelled 3D depiction of one Pokémon kicking another Pokémon’s ass.

So the Nintendo restaurant delivered exactly what it promised. It’s just that once the meal was on my plate, I realized that I had ordered a plate of [pixy stix](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixy Stix). Sweet and colorful, but not all that satisfying.

The most clever parts of the game? You can transfer your little creatures, wirelessly, from your Nintendo DS copy of Pokémon Diamond or Pearl, and you can use the DS to control the game in a multiplayer battle mode. The least clever parts of the game? The complete lack of any interesting Wii-like controls, and the fact that the UI locks up whenever your onscreen hostess bows. It’s a Japanese game. She is bowing all the time.

In summary, either of the DS Pokémon games offer ten times the fun for half the price. Don’t bother with Pokémon Battle Revolution.